At Westmead Hospital the acuity of neonatal intensive care episodes of care
were not reflective of the actual resource utilisation and activity. Additionally, the medical record at Westmead NICU was similar to a smaller, less acute metropolitan hospital.
To remedy the above issues Westmead:
• Encouraged extensive collaboration with the coding department
• Supported education sessions with medical officers and coding
• Developed and implemented a clinical coding summary tool to guide the Clinical Coders
• Provided access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist for the clinical coding department
• Identified clinical champions to assist in the amendments to documentation
As a result of their efforts, Westmead increased their revenue by $4.3 million in 12 months. Additionally noted was an increase in revenue per bed day of $176, an increase of.24NWAU per episode and a decrease in RSI by 6.59%.
Click here to view a summary slide of the Innovation.